6 Great Ways To Practice Singing
Practice is an important aspect of performing for many actors and actresses, and especially for full time singer. To make sure you are getting the best and the most out of your practice time whether 10 minutes or an hour, check to see if you are doing these things.
1. Relax
The absolute best thing and first thing you should do before practicing or warming up is be relaxed. Give your body a little bit of time to get loose and be limber so it is prepared for anything you throw at it. Try to get your morning exercise in before your morning warmup and that should definitely do the trick. If you can't try some simple stretching and running in place or jumping jacks for a minute or so to get that blood pumping. Slowly reach down to your toes and come back up just as slow to open up your back. Stretch backward to open up your core and chest areas.
2. Practice Deep Breathing
You know how you get your medical check up and the doctor tells you to breathe in deep from your nose and breathe out through your mouth? Doing just that will work wonders for your voice!
3. Practice the Scales
Do this at your own pace. I urge you to not do the regular "me, me, me" that does little and can be a setup for failure if you are not sure of exactly what your voice should be doing or how you should do it. Try solfege to start with. It's the do-re-me-fa-so-la-te-do, or to some people the song from the sound of music. Practice with some tapes or look for videos online. I have found some great scale drills on youtube that I keep in my car.
4. Watch Your Posture
Freeze your body a second while you are warming up and practicing and take note of how your body is positioned. Are your shoulders slumped over? Are you leaning over? All of this can affect your tone, your breathing and your overall endurance while singing.
Roll those shoulders back and if you are sitting stand up. Of course if you are injured or otherwise unable to stand you can get a great practice in sitting down but place yourself at the edge of your seat and plant your feet shoulder length apart on the floor. This will dramatically improve your breathing and control. Of course at some point you will be moving while you sing but both of these positions should be your base to allow you an adequent flow of sound.
5. Rest
Over using your voice at any time is never a good thing and practice time is no exception. If you are doing a quick 10-15 minute warmup then by all means you
Do you have a vocal coach
are allowed to plow through that but if you are doing a full 45 minute to an hour of a warmup, plan some quiet time. This does not mean you can't do anything. Try doing a simple breathing exercise halfway through your warmup.
6. Do NOT Push
Pushing does not belong in singing. If you push sound from your throat you are going to really hurt your voice and probably tire yourself out. This is where that deep breathing kicks in. You should feel the sound sort of lifting from your diaphragm much like when you take your deep breaths or when you yawn.
Another really great thing to do if you can is to get a vocal coach. No this does not mean you are incapable of singing correctly, it means you care about your voice to do things right and to be pushed beyond your comfort zone, to be challenged vocally. Most of the best singers in the world have vocal coaches, Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, just so many. Go get one if you can and I'm sure they will tell you or look to see if you are doing the thing I wrote about above and more.
